Victims find it beneficial - UK Restorative Justice Council (2015): report a 85% satisfaction from victims in face-to-face meetings with their offenders
These reports of victim satisfaction cover a range of crimes from theft to violent crime
Victims also claim a greater sense of satisfaction than when cases go through mainstream courts.
Suggests that RJ achieves some of its aims and helps survivors deal and cope with the aftermath of the incident
Restorative Justice AO3 - Lower recidivism
RJ reducesreoffending and thus reduces crime rates.
Research indicates that the aim of reducing reoffending has been achieved through RJ.
Sherman and Strang reviewed 20 studies of face-to-face meetings between offender and victim in the US, UK and Australia.
They found that all of the studies showed reduced reoffending, and none were linked to higher reoffending
This suggests that RJ has a positive impact on re-offending, possibly more so than other approaches
Restorative Justice AO3 - Abuse of system
Success for RJ is based on offenders honourable intentions, genuine regret and wanting to make amends
However, research has suggested that offenders may use RJ for other reasons like avoiding punishment and playing down their fault
This may explain why not all offenders benefit from RJ and go on to re-offend